I have lit myself on fire (I'm in a Darwin Awards book), been on stage with Penn & Teller, TV with Super Dave Osborne, scored at Maple Leaf Gardens, "sold" music to Kevin Smith, been in a commercial, and appeared homeless in a rap video. I'm a huge fan of golf, hockey, science, the Oxford comma, and equality. I currently write, create, and eat snacks.

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February 19, 2014

Flash Fiction Challenge #7

Gordon will be posting the week 6 winner on Thursday this week. So head on over to Gordon's Blog in about 24 hours to check it out.Now, onto week 7!The rules are very simple: we give you a prompt and you write 500 words or less.You can write in any style that you wish just be sure to use the prompt as your inspiration, keep it under 500 words, write it in English, and ensure it's completely made up (this is a flash fiction challenge after all).Next week Gordon and I will post links to the pieces we liked the best and will probably do a shout out on Twitter to those folks if they so desire. After a few months we'll compile a list of our favourites and we'll get the Internet to vote. The winner will win stuff (to be determined, but we're sure they'll love it).Now, without further ado we present this week's prompt. I'm taking a page out of Gordon's book and using a picture as the prompt:

Use the comments below to submit your work. You can submit anonymously, but if you don't leave us an email address or Twitter handle you can't win.Have fun!~ Andrew & Gordon

1 comment:

A/N: Wow! Thanks for the double win, guys. I love how these challenges exercise my fiction skills. This week’s picture was a little more difficult to write for, but I tried my best.

Forgiveness

God had forsaken him.

For thirty-five years he’d been a faithful church-goer and activist and believer; religious to the soul. How was he rewarded? God had cast aside his precious wife and son.

Les stabbed the small fire that danced at his feet. Around him the Pacific Northwest shrouded him with the loamy scent of plant rot, soil, and lake. God had turned away from him and let that rich city boy off the hook for his family’s murder.

“It’s not God’s fault, Les.” His wife’s serene voice drew his attention as she stepped into the firelight. “You need to stop blaming Him.”

She sat on the damp log beside him. The firelight played across her face, in her eyes, in her chestnut hair. He believed in this image of her so much that he could smell her perfume, hanging in a cloud around her, could see the millions of freckles splattered on her skin. She even wore the gold love-knot earrings he’d given her for their anniversary. The ones she’d been buried in.

“God loves you even if you don’t love Him,” she continued. He felt the warmth of her hands as she cradled his face how she did after he’d had a hard day at work.

“Anna, He let you and Nate die. He let that…man go free without punishment. How is that just?” Tears fell hot from his eyes. “How is that righteous?”

“He’s giving you that power. Use it to fight for Him. No one can stop you or use us against you now. We sit at His right hand,” she said. “Nate’s happy. So am I. And we’re proud that you’re a servant of God.”

While she spoke, a bright light danced up from the fire. The light was white and brighter than anything Les had ever seen. It twinkled like a stone-sized star as it glided over to him and then into him. When it pushed inside his chest, strength and sureness swelled from the eternal love, forgiveness, and salvation that God alone could give him. That black void, grown inside him from the moment Anna and Nate had been declared dead, was finally filled.

Anna kissed him, the same kiss she’d given him countless times and countless times he’d taken it for granted. But this time, the kiss woke him up to a dead fire and a gray dawn. White mist rolled over the coniferous trees in an undulating wall. For the first time in months, Les felt alive. Human. He stumbled off the shale shore into the shallow lake waters.

Cold water splashed up his legs, saturated his shoes. He didn’t care. He spread his arms wide- -his heart soaring above and beyond him- -and lifted his face to Heaven. God was with him. God was good, God was love. He would use the new power to smite His enemies, starting with Jack Greenwich, murderer.

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